Apparatus for controlling the movement of piece goods in dyeing and finishing machines

ABSTRACT

This invention provides a control apparatus for use with a dyeing and/or finishing machine of the kind in which a skein or rope of material is passed through a closed circuit including tubular conduits. A magnet or metal element moves with the skein or rope and in one zone of the closed circuit an electromagnetic detector is arranged to provide pulses in response to the passage of the said element through the zone. If the pulses fail to appear within a given interval of the time taken for one complete circuit of the dyeing machine in normal operation of the latter the detecting circuit operates an alarm device signalling stoppage of the skein or rope in the machine.

United States Patent [191 Caputi [111 3,830,084 1 Aug. 20, 1974' 1APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE MOVEMENT OF PIECE GOODS IN DYEING ANDFINISHING MACHINES [76] Inventor: Renzo Caputi, Via Caligaris 4,

Strona (Vercelli), Italy [22] Filed: Apr. 27, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 355,098

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. 27, 1972 Italy 23617/72 [52]US. Cl 68/178, 118/6, 118/419, 226/45, 226/100, 340/259 [51] Int. Cl...B050 3/134, B05c 11/00, G08b 21/00 [58] Field of Search 68/l75179, 68/13R; 118/6, 419; 226/45, 100; 340/259 [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS- 2,504,883 4/1950 Sinclair .Q 68/176 Fujii et a1 68/177 X Thieset a1. 68/177 [5 7] ABSTRACT This invention provides a control apparatusfor use with a dyeing and/or finishing machine of the kind in which askein or rope of material is passed through a closed circuit includingtubular conduits. A magnet or metal element moves with the skein or ropeand in one zone of the closed circuit an electromagnetic detector isarranged to provide pulses in response to the passage of the saidelement through the zone. If the pulses fail to appear within a giveninterval of the time taken for one complete circuit of the dyeingmachine in normal operation of the latter the detecting circuit operatesan alarm device signalling stoppage of the skein or rope in the machine.

8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PAIEN TED AUG 2 0 I974 APPARATUS FORCONTROLLING THE MOVEMENT OF PIECE GOODS IN DYEING AND FINISHING MACHINESThis invention relates to an apparatus for controlling the movement ofpiece goods in dyeing and finishing machines and more particularly, butnot exclusively, it relates to an apparatus for controlling the movementof piece goods in machines for dyeing skeins of material.

It is known that, before undergoing a treatment of dyeing and/orfinishing of said type, the material is constricted to assumesubstantially the form of a skein or rope. Under such conditions'theskein of material is pressed and stretched as it passes in a tortuouspath through a dyeing and/or finishing bath, so that it makes goodcontact with the treatment liquid.

Known machines for dyeing skeins of material are generally formed by asubstantially tubular U-shaped tub having substantially vertical tubularlegs which communicate at their upper ends with the inside of a chamberin which a skein-winder is rotatably mounted for supporting and pullingthe skein of material through the bath. The dyeing and finishing liquidis fed into the tub until it reaches a certain level in the tubularlegs. To be treated in such dyeing machines, the ends of the skein ofmaterial are connected to each other and the material assumes the formof an endless skein or rope which is supported and moved by theskein-winder, passing through the dyeing bath a predetermined number oftimes.

It is also known to provide in various parts of the tub inlet and outletconduits for the dyeing liquid, and conduits for introducing fluid (forexample air and/or steam) into the bath to produce turbulence, in orderto facilitate the movement of the skein and to improve its contact withthe treatment agents contained in the bath. For the same purpose thetransverse section of the interior of the tubular tub is generallyirregular.

The above-mentioned known expedients in dyeing machines tend tointerfere with the tortuous path of the skein of material, obstructingits movement. This, added to the fact that the skein of material is bynature prone to entanglement, especially when it encounters one or moreobstacles, gives rise to several technical difficulties in dyeingmachines, until now not satisfactorily resolved. One of these technicaldifficulties is the fact that the material, in passing through thedyeing or finishing bath, for the above-mentioned reasons, can becomearrested. Such stoppage of the material is not easily detected, as theskein-winder continues to rotate while the skein of material slides overit. A stoppage of the material in the dyeing bath, even for shortperiods, can ruin the material irreparably.

A main object of this invention is to provide an apparatus whichcontrols with safety the movement of piece goods in dyeing and/orfinishing machines, in particular in machines for dyeing skeins ofmaterial, and which can detect the occurrence of a stoppage of the skeinmaterial during its movement through the dyeing and finishing bath evenif the means drawing the skeins through the bath continue to function.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of saidtype having simple structural and functional characteristics,susceptible of a wide application to dyeing and/or finishing machineswithout entailing specific time-consuming modifications or adaptationsof the dyeing machines. Another object of the invention is to provide anapparatus of the said type which is of simple realisation, allowing theuse of material normally available commercially.

According to the invention there is provided an apparatus forcontrolling the movement of piece goods in a dyeing and finishingmachine, in particular for controlling the movement of a skein ofmaterial in a dyeing machine, in which the skein is moved in a closedcircuit including at least partly tubular conduits by skeinwindingmeans, the said control apparatus comprising at least one device adaptedto provide upon movement of the skein electrical and/or electromagneticpulses, said device being associated with the skein in at least onepoint of its overall length, a device for detecting said pulses, locatedexternally of one of the conduits of said dyeing machine in at least onezone of the closed circuit of movement of the skein, and a signallingdevice adapted to be operated by the detected pulses in the event ofstoppage of the skein.

The invention will now be described, by way of nonlimiting example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 represents schematically a machine for dyeing material in theform of a skein incorporating apparatus according to one embodiment ofthe present invention for controlling the movement of the material;

, FIG. 2 represents, on enlarged scale, a detail of the controlapparatus according to the invention, as employed in the machine of FIG.1, and

FIG. 3 represents schematically part of a second em-.

bodiment of apparatus according to the invention for controlling themovement of a skein of material through a dyeing machine.

FIG. 1 illustrates a machine for dyeing material in the form of a skein,comprising essentially a tubular U- shaped tub I having tubular legs 2and 3 the upper ends of which are in communication with the inside of acylindrical chamber 4 having a charging door 4a. A rotary skein-winder 5driven by a motor 50 through a transmission belt 5b is mounted in thechamber 4. The legs 2 and 3 together with the chamber 4 define a closedpath for the skein of material to be dyed.

The tub I is supported on a base and is filled to a certain level 6awith a liquid forming a dyeing and finishing bath 6. The skein-winder 5,of known type, supports and pulls the skein 7 of material and has anessentially elliptical shape. Upon rotation the winder 5 pushes andpulls the skein 7 at a cyclically varying speed so that the skein passesthrough the bath 6 in a tortuous conformation, shown schematically inFIG. 1 as a number of bends 7a.

The apparatus of this invention for controlling the movement of theskein 7 through the bath 6 and for detecting stoppages in such movement,comprises a pulse generator 8 associated with the skein 7 and a pulsedetector device 9 arranged externally of the tub I for the purpose ofdetecting the pulses generated by the generator 8.

More particularly according to a preferred embodiment of the invention,illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pulse generator 8 comprises apermanent magnet attached to the skein 7, while the pulse detectordevice 9 is formed (FIG. 2) by a number of ferromagnetic cores 10, oneach of which an electrical conductor is wound to form a coil 11, thecoils 11 being connected in series. The ferromagnetic cores 10 aremounted on device 16 including, for example, an acoustic alarm 17.

The operation of the control apparatus according to the invention is asfollows: when the permanent magnet 8, which moves cyclically with theskein 7, passes through the zone of the detector device 9, it induces anelectromotive force in the coils 11 and the resulting induced currentflows in signalling device 16. The device 16 is provided with a delaycircuit which causes the associated alarm 17 to operate only if theinterval between two successive pulses from the detector device 9exceeds by a predetermined time t the time T taken by the skein 7 toaccomplish a complete circuit of the closed path of the machine. Forexample, if it takes a minute for the skein 7 to accomplish a completecircuit under normal conditions of operation of the machine, the delaycircuit of the signalling device 16 may be set to provide a delay of L5minutes. in the event of an accidental stoppage of the skein 7 withinthe dyeing and finishing bath 6 the permanent magnet 8 stops andtherefore ceases to induce regular current pulses in the detector device9 so that the signalling device 16 ceases to receive pulses. if thisstoppage lasts for a time exceeding the predetermined delay (e.g. l.5minutes) of the delay circuit of the signalling device 16, the

.alarm 17 operates and the machine operator can quickly intervene toeliminate the cause of the stoppage, thereby avoiding prolongedimmersion of the arrested skein of material in the bath 6, which woulddamage the material.

In the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the apparatus accordingto this invention comprises a high frequency voltage generator 18connected, through leads l9 and 20, to a winding 21 having one or moreturns surrounding the skein 7 for example at a point on the leg 2 of thetub 1.

One of the leads, for example the lead 20, includes a detecting device22 which is connected through leads 23 and 24 to a signalling device 25including, for example, an acoustic alarm 25a.

The apparatus further includes a metal element 26, not necessarilymagnetic, which is fixed to the skein 7 of material being treated in themachine which passes cyclically through the leg 2. The detecting device22 is provided with a known circuit which is responsive to theelectromagnetic characteristics of the winding 21 surrounding the leg 2at-the frequency of the oscillating voltage applied to the winding 21and generates pulses only upon the passing of the metal element 26through the winding 21. These pulses are sent to the signalling device25 which operates the alarm 25a when the detected movement of the skein7 is irregular. The signalling device 25 is, as in the previouslydescribed embodiment, provided with a known delay circuit. If the pulsesare detected at intervals T, substantially equal to the time taken bythe skein 7, and therefore by the metal element 26, to accomplish acomplete circuit, the device 25 prevents the acoustic alarm 25 fromfunctioning; on the other hand, if the interval between two successivedetected pulses exceeds by an interval t" the time 'I taken by the skein7 to accomplish a complete circuit in the machine when the latter isfunctioning normally, the acoustic alarm 25a is automatically operatedby the device 25 to warn the machine operator.

It will be appreciated that instead of an acoustic alarm 25a thesignalling device 25 could be associated with an optical warning device.

1 claim:

1. In a dyeing and finishing machine of the kind hav ing a closedcircuit including at least partly tubular conduits and skein-windingmeans for moving a skein of material through a bath in said closedcircuit, improved control apparatus comprising at least one deviceadapted to provide upon movement of the skein electrical and/orelectromagnetic pulses, said device being associated with the skein inat least one point of its overall length, a device for detecting saidpulses, located externally of one of said conduits of said dyeingmachine in at least one zone of said closed circuit of movement of theskein, and a signalling device adapted to be operated by the detectedpulses in the event of stoppage of the skein.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said device for providingelectrical and/or electromagnetic pulses is formed by a permanent magnetwhich in use of the apparatus is arranged for movement with the skein.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said pulse detecting devicecomprises at least one coil wound around a zone of at least one of saidconduits defining said closed circuit of movement of the skein, andtherefore of said device for providing the electrical and/orelectromagnetic pulses.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said pulse detecting devicecomprises a number of ferromagnetic cores and a respective coil wound oneach said core, said coils being connected together in series and theseries-connected coils being connected to said signalling device.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, including an annular supportarranged externally of said zone of at least one of said conduitsdefining said closed circuit of the skein material, said ferromagneticcores being mounted on said annular support with their axes extendingradially outwardly from said support.

6. Apparatus for controlling the movement of piece goods in a dyeing andfinishing machine, in particular for controlling the movement of a skeinof material in a dyeing machine having means for moving the skeincyclically in a closed circuit closed within conduits which are at leastpartly tubular, said apparatus comprising: an electrically conductiveelement which in use of the apparatus is associated with a point on saidskein; an electrically conductive winding surrounding a zone of at leastone of the said conduits of the machine; a generator of an oscillatoryvoltage at a predetermined frequency connected to said winding; adetecting device connected to the winding and to the said generator,said detecting device being adapted to provide an electrical pulse eachtime the conductive element passes through the said zone surrounded bythe winding; and a signalling device connected to said detecting deviceand operable in response to variation or cessation of said pulsesresulting from stoppage of the skein in the machine.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said signalling deviceincludes an alarm and a delay circuit which operates said alarm when theinterval between two successive pulses from said detecting deviceexceeds by a given interval t the time T taken by the skein to completeits closed circuit under normal operating conditions of the machine.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said sig- 6 two successivepulses from said detecting device exceeds by a given interval t the timeT" taken by the skein to complete its closed circuit under normalopernailing device includes an alarm and a delay circuit 5 atmgConditions of the machinewhich operates said alarm when the intervalbetween

1. In a dyeing and finishing machine of the kind having a closed circuitincluding at least partly tubular conduits and skeinwinding means formoving a skein of maTerial through a bath in said closed circuit,improved control apparatus comprising at least one device adapted toprovide upon movement of the skein electrical and/or electromagneticpulses, said device being associated with the skein in at least onepoint of its overall length, a device for detecting said pulses, locatedexternally of one of said conduits of said dyeing machine in at leastone zone of said closed circuit of movement of the skein, and asignalling device adapted to be operated by the detected pulses in theevent of stoppage of the skein.
 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1,wherein said device for providing electrical and/or electromagneticpulses is formed by a permanent magnet which in use of the apparatus isarranged for movement with the skein.
 3. Apparatus as defined in claim1, wherein said pulse detecting device comprises at least one coil woundaround a zone of at least one of said conduits defining said closedcircuit of movement of the skein, and therefore of said device forproviding the electrical and/or electromagnetic pulses.
 4. Apparatus asdefined in claim 1, wherein said pulse detecting device comprises anumber of ferromagnetic cores and a respective coil wound on each saidcore, said coils being connected together in series and theseries-connected coils being connected to said signalling device. 5.Apparatus as defined in claim 4, including an annular support arrangedexternally of said zone of at least one of said conduits defining saidclosed circuit of the skein material, said ferromagnetic cores beingmounted on said annular support with their axes extending radiallyoutwardly from said support.
 6. Apparatus for controlling the movementof piece goods in a dyeing and finishing machine, in particular forcontrolling the movement of a skein of material in a dyeing machinehaving means for moving the skein cyclically in a closed circuit closedwithin conduits which are at least partly tubular, said apparatuscomprising: an electrically conductive element which in use of theapparatus is associated with a point on said skein; an electricallyconductive winding surrounding a zone of at least one of the saidconduits of the machine; a generator of an oscillatory voltage at apredetermined frequency connected to said winding; a detecting deviceconnected to the winding and to the said generator, said detectingdevice being adapted to provide an electrical pulse each time theconductive element passes through the said zone surrounded by thewinding; and a signalling device connected to said detecting device andoperable in response to variation or cessation of said pulses resultingfrom stoppage of the skein in the machine.
 7. Apparatus as defined inclaim 1 wherein said signalling device includes an alarm and a delaycircuit which operates said alarm when the interval between twosuccessive pulses from said detecting device exceeds by a given interval''''t'''' the time ''''T'''' taken by the skein to complete its closedcircuit under normal operating conditions of the machine.
 8. Apparatusas defined in claim 6, wherein said signalling device includes an alarmand a delay circuit which operates said alarm when the interval betweentwo successive pulses from said detecting device exceeds by a giveninterval ''''t'''' the time ''''T'''' taken by the skein to complete itsclosed circuit under normal operating conditions of the machine.